


The Older Martin (ENGLISH)

by cry_btch



Category: Teen Wolf (TV), The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Banshees, F/F, F/M, Hybrids, Multi, Teen Wolf season 3, The Vampire Diaries Season 3, The Vampire Diaries Season 4, Vampires, Werewolves, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-16
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-02-07 07:55:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21454630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cry_btch/pseuds/cry_btch
Summary: In which Clara Martin goes back to her home town, only to find it isn't as dull as she thought it was.***"So... You're a witch, right?""Yep""And... a vampire?""Yes""And you're going to bleed us all until we die?"I'm just going to eat you if you keep talking"***[YOU CAN ALSO FIND THIS ON TUMBLR]
Relationships: Damon Salvatore/Original Female Character(s), Elena Gilbert/Original Female Character(s), Klaus Mikaelson/Original Female Character(s), Kol Mikaelson/Original Female Character(s), Niklaus Mikaelson/Original Female Character(s), Stiles Stilinski/Original Female Character(s), Void!Stiles/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 45





	1. Back in Beacon Hills

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [The Older Martin (ESPAÑOL)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15199937) by [cry_btch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cry_btch/pseuds/cry_btch). 

All peace in Clara Martin’s life has been disrupted at least four times while living in Mystic Falls:

The first time was when she discovered her uncontrollable magic.

The second one was when she met the Salvatore brothers.

The third was when she turned into a vampire, becoming the first hybrid witch-vampire to ever exist.

Even though she is supernatural, the reason why she left the town -and the fourth interruption of her peace- was rather ordinary: her grades. Because of all the supernatural drama and trying -and failing- to save her crush, she couldn’t spend time studying and that ended with her failing the entire year. Her parents weren’t so happy to hear about it and made her come back to make sure it wouldn’t happen again.

All of this would have been less stressful and complicated if his best friend’s brother wasn’t on the run with certain Original hybrid, who -if you didn’t know- sacrificed her crush less than a month ago.

Now she was back in Beacon Hills, a town that didn’t seem to be so boring and average as it was when she left.

*******

The four-hour-long flight from Virginia to California felt boring and never-ending for Clara. She couldn’t sleep during the flight and her phone ran out of battery, so she couldn’t call her mother to tell her she arrived. Nor reach her friends.

Carrying her suitcases, Clara had taken the bus about two and a half hours ago. This one bus travelled from town to town, picking up passengers at the airport. Time passed slowly while the bus roamed on the highway. She took a look at her watch, seeing it was 10:23 in the morning. She had been awake nine endless hours and hadn’t been able to sleep on the bus either. But the trip was about, because, according to the driver, there were twenty minutes left to reach Beacon Hills.

The journey would have been less horrible if her mother had picked her up from the airport. Or if she could have driven her Volkswagen Beetle. But the car wouldn’t arrive within a week and her mother was busy (and not very happy with her), so she had to endure a journey of two hours and fifty minutes, instead of spending an hour and a half like she wanted to.

Seeing the sign indicating that they were entering Beacon Hills, the redhead picked up her backpack and tied her wavy hair in a high ponytail, leaving some shorter strands loose. She waited for the bus driver to stop the vehicle in the town centre to get off and collect her bags, while drumming her fingers on her leg.

She was nervous, yes. She hadn’t seen her family in a long time, but she was sure that there was a scolding from her mother waiting for her at home. She had already talked with her about her grades and what she must do during the summer: go to an academy. She really very nervous and mad with herself, she could have approved some classes! But due to the arrival of Katherine and the Originals, she had neglected her studies and, with the sacrifice and Damon being bitten by her cousin, she totally forgot that she had to change her bad grades for acceptable ones.

You know, with a little trick vampires have.

With everything that had happened in Mystic Falls, Clara was leaving just because she had suspended the year ... It was simply ironic. Her life was constantly in danger trying to save her loved ones and it was because of high school that she was moving back to Beacon Hills.

Her friends made a couple of jokes about it, trying not to get too sad for the redhead's departure, but everyone knew it would be different without her in Mystic Falls. Besides that, Stefan had disappeared along with a psychotic hybrid, who could return at any moment and discover that Elena was still alive.

Wonderful.

On the other hand, Clara feared that her supernatural status would be discovered by her family, that she would lose control over the blood or that her powers would decide to appear at the worst time. Damon had told her several times not to worry too much, that she was in control, but... What if she couldn’t hide at one point?

She shook her head a couple of times, clearing her ideas, as she began to walk through the streets of her town. Things did not seem to have changed much, she remembered everything almost exactly and recognized the faces of some citizens. Beacon Hills’ town centre wasn’t really far away from her home, a twenty-minute walk if she was extremely slow.

She could finally breathe fresh air and move her numb limbs. The first steps were somewhat painful, but little by little she became accustomed to feeling her legs again and tried walking faster, carrying her bags. In these she didn’t have everything she wanted to bring to Beacon Hills; Only clothes, makeup, her drawing material and her two verbain and aconite plants. Some furniture, photos and books would not arrive until days later. In her backpack she carried her electronic devices and her most important grimoires, since they all did not fit in her suitcases and backpack.

If it weren't for her supernatural condition, her back would really be sore and her arms and legs would be tired of the weight she carried. In that very moment, she mentally thanked the super strength and super speed she had. She arrived home or -should I say- mansion a little earlier than she thought.

The Martins were a wealthy family and that was not something difficult to perceive.

She climbed the stairs of the porch of her old home and knocked on the door, her nervousness becoming increasingly noticeable. The knock rumbled throughout the mansion, drawing the attention of the two residents of it. Natalie stopped doing what she was doing to answer the door, being followed by little Prada.

“Clara, honey, come in!”

The aforementioned smiled a little, calmer, while entering her home for the first time after moving to Mystic Falls a year and seven months ago. She left her suitcases and her backpack at the side of the door to hug her mother, whom she had not seen since spring break. The next thing she did was bent down to pet her dog, who jumped from joy at the redhead's feet.

"I've missed you so much, Mom" After a few moments stroking her pet, she turned to her parent again.

With her statement she didn’t lie, but it was also true that she would have preferred to stay in Mystic Falls, with her friends, with Elena. She couldn't help thinking how she should be feeling right now: her aunt had been sacrificed, Stefan had to follow Klaus and she was gone.

“Me too, Clara, me too. But you know what we had agreed...”

“Yes, mom, I have to study” She interrupted her after breaking the hug.

“You have to work hard if you want to step on that little town again, huh?” Her mother patted her on the back before turning to call her other daughter. “Lydia, your sister has arrived, come here!”

The second redhead came down seconds later, smiling at her older sister. They weren’t the closest sisters in the world, but it was true that they got along and she had missed her. Almost immediately Clara noticed that there was something different about her sister, even though she couldn’t pinpoint it. She didn't seem to be the same girl who only cared about her reputation. Something had changed and Clara didn't think it was because her stupid boyfriend had left the town. She had to find out.

If there was something that represented her completely, it would be her curiosity and stubbornness, so whatever her sister was hiding, she would discover it.

“Being away from me has lowered your grades, how do you feel having to be in my year?” It was her greeting after appearing in the hybrid’s view.

"Don't remind me" She laughed and hugged her sister, feeling nostalgic. When was the last time she had hugged her?

“We will help you carry your stuff upstairs, let’s go”

The three women carried the bags and the backpack to her old room, which had remained intact after all this time. The walls were painted lilac and white, and the dark wood of the floor was adorned with a white carpet. The white bedspread on her bed had drawings of lilac flowers and there were stuffed animals, books and photos with her former friends on the shelves. Without a doubt, her room reminded her of the old her: the cheerleader who was not comfortable with her group of friends.

She didn't want that. She didn't want to have that memory embodied in her room. She would have to do something to change that. Soon, if possible.

They left the suitcases in a corner of the room and brought some boxes, in which she would put what she no longer wanted from her room. Clara had a long job to do and she was really exhausted from the journey, she just wanted to sleep.

Before her mother and her sister left her room, she gave both of them the gifts she had brought from Mystic Falls: the typical village tea and some jewelry adorned with an aromatic plant. Then she took off her shoes and threw herself on the bed, ready to take a long nap.

*******

It had been a few hours since she had woken up from and had begun relocating her room. She was thinking for a while if she wanted to change the colors of her room, concluding that she didn’t dislike them at all, it was only the childish decoration and vague memories what bothered her. Some of her stuff was thrown away or stored in boxes in the attic.

The photos she had with her former friends weren’t in her room anymore, they had been replaced by ones she had with the girls (Elena, Bonnie and Caroline), with the Salvatores, with the little Gilbert and also with his cousin, Tyler, and Matt. The fantasy books had been changes with her grimoires and some more educational books on the supernatural. The stuffed animals had been removed and, instead, her aconite and verbain plants had been put. She must be more careful with the latter, but whenever she needed it, he would have it at hand.

Her closet was what took her the longest to relocate, as it had to do with what clothes she would keep and which ones she didn’t want. Her style had obviously changed, and she had grown a little so there were clothes that she could no longer wear. The clothes she saved were some dark dresses, not too old fashioned jeans, skirts that still covered her and not very colorful tops, while the underwear and shoes had to be put in boxes to be donated or given to a cousin younger than her. Also, she saved her old cheerleader uniform, although it would be a little tighter for than before, she planned to return to the team. Later, she put the clothes and the shoes that she brought from Mystic Falls in her closet. Her accessories were stored in her dresser, among these were her some sunlight rings and pendants, and also a few bracelets with verbain.

Being a witch had its perks and she always needed to have accessories against the sun in case she lost the one she used normally. Or someone close to her turned into a vampire. The bracelets with verbain were mostly for her safety and the ones of those around her. Now that she knew about those creatures that roamed at night, she was always alert.

At her desk Clara planted her laptop and drawing material, sorting it in some way that it didn’t look like a stack of notebooks and cases. Also, she left her phone charging, in which - when it switched on again - she saw a couple of missed calls from whom she least wanted: The Psychotic Hybrid.

No, seriously, that's how Klaus was saved in her phone. What else would she save him? Mikaelson Dagger? Elijah's bro? Stefan's boyfriend? Blue-eyed stalker #2? And yes, in case you were wondering, she had Damon as Blue-eyed stalker #1. Although Klaus was about to take his place very soon...

His missed calls were what worried her most, more than the texts of her friends asking her about the journey. That could wait, but not Klaus.

He was an impatient hybrid.

And a very complaining one.

"Hello, love" His low voice and the nickname he chose along with his clearly English accent made her nervous. Clara could almost feel his mischievous smile through the phone.

“Hello, Klaus. I'm sorry I couldn't pick up the phone earlier, it was off” The redheaded hybrid replied, while she brought the boxes to the attic, mentally thanking her sister and mother for not being home in that moment.

That way they wouldn't ask who she was talking to.

"I figured that out, don't worry" Clara kicked one of the boxes to put it aside, while rolling her eyes. “Changing the subject, how was the trip to Beacon Hills?”

"Get to the point, Klaus, I know you don't call me to ask about the trip" The redhead removed her hair from her face and left the attic. “And, for your information, it was quite boring”

The blond let out a light laugh before answering:

"You're right, I'm not calling you for that" He paused briefly before speaking again, this time more seriously. “I'm having some troubles finding werewolves, I thought you could help me with that”

“What exactly do you want me to do? I can have the power of a hundred witches, but I still don't know each and every one of my grimoire's spells” After a few seconds, she added. “Besides, I don't have all of them yet”

"Well, love, if you have that pendant of yours, it's for something" She put her hand on her chest, where, underneath her clothes, was said pendant. It was from one of her ancestors. “You could ask them about my problem” Through the phone she heard the sound of blood dripping, Klaus had forced someone to give him his blood. “Or you could search in your books for more information about the wolves, to know where the most numerous packs are…” The Martin's breath stopped at the thought of blood, she hadn’t taken any since last night. “You should have a snack; I feel your thirst from here”

“I have completely forgotten, I have been busy fixing my room ... I will look for something for dinner and then I will look in my books about what you have told me, okay?”

“Great, I'll send you what you have to look for specifically, call me if you find anything”

“Yes... Goodbye, Klaus”

“See you soon, love”

Clara hung up and used her super speed to go to her room. When she arrived there, she took off the clothes she was wearing the whole day (a sweatshirt and leggings, comfortable clothes for the trip) and put on a loose blue top and gray jeans. Then she put on some black ankle boots and brushed her hair, leaving it loose. She had cut it recently and now it reached below her shoulders. She looked at herself in the mirror for a moment before taking a black denim jacket and leaving the house.

The darkness and the apparent tranquility of the town resulted in an easy field for hunting. Normally Clara would drink from blood bags, but until her mini fridge arrived she would have to do it in the old fashioned way: wait on a lonely road for some poor soul to drive there and attack them. It was the fastest and most effective way.

With the task in mind, the young woman walked for a while until she reached a road on the outskirts of town. There were no buildings, only forest. It wasn’t a crowded place, but she had a feeling that tonight she would find a dinner pretty quick. As Damon had taught her, she lay down on the floor and spread her arms. Her gaze was fixed on a starry sky while she waited for someone to arrive. She only waited for a few minutes until she heard a car approaching. Smiling to herself, she closed her eyes and prepared for the show.

"Oh my God..." Clara heard the driver say, just before stopping less than a meter away from her.

The boy got out of the vehicle and almost ran to her laying body, stumbling with his own feet when he left his car.

“Lydia? Oh my god, are you alright? What happened to you?” He began to speak quickly, nervousness running through his veins.

The teenager -the hybrid felt he was- should know her sister, because he had confused her with Lydia. How could he not do that when they were practically identical, except for a couple of details. Like the color of hair and eyes.

“I'm not feeling well. Help me, please...” She pretended to feel weak, putting her voice hoarse. Whoever her next victim was, the Martin girl felt a little sorry for him. He really seemed worried. But she had to feed and it's not like she was going to kill him.

“You're hurt? What's wrong? Do you know how you got here?” He kept asking questions, crouching beside her.

He kept talking when Clara opened her honey eyes. The boy seemed vaguely familiar, but she didn't pay much attention to that fact because she was trying to pretend to be hurt.

“I don't know, I can´t remember anything...” She said the first thing that crossed her mind.

"Hold on there, I'm going to call my father" The boy sat up and turned around, pulling his mobile phone from his pants.

Clara took advantage of that moment to get up and move quickly. By the time the teenager was turning to look at her again, she was no longer there.

“Lydia?” He turned again, looking the other way, where the hybrid appeared, scaring him. "Lyd-?"

He stopped abruptly in the middle of his calling, watching the girl's face transform: veins began to appear under her eyes and they started to turn completely red, while her sharp fangs stood out from her smiling mouth. The hungry girl left him no time to react when she pounced on his neck and sank her teeth there, eager to test his blood.

The screams soon made themselves heard while she drank, so she thanked being alone. She stopped when she felt his victim was getting dizzy and gave him her blood to cure him, biting her wrist and making him swallow the liquid. He sucked the blood that was left in the wound already healed and Clara made his scared beautiful brown eyes stare into her own, moving his chin down with her hand.

“You will not remember that this happened, you will enter your car and you will continue with what you were doing. You will be as careful as possible during the next 24 hours, understand?”

“I understand”

Those were the words she needed to hear to disappear at night, leaving the teenager confused as he got back into his vehicle.

*******

The next morning, the hybrid woke up somewhat uneasy. Her compulsion was not always effective and she feared that this time was one of those when the victim remembered what happened. The problem now was that here she was alone and it seemed that the people didn’t know the existence of the supernatural, so having a teenager running around the streets screaming "vampire" was not convenient. Besides, if he knew her sister, this would only cause problems.

She didn't want her to be involved in the supernatural drama, not like her.

This time, she answered the messages of his friends, telling them how boring the trip was. Last night, Klaus sent her what he wanted her to look for and she wrote it down on a notebook to look for it this morning. After breakfast, of course.

Dressed in her black pajamas, she hooked her hair in a quick ponytail and went down to the kitchen with her phone in her hand. She found no one on her way until she reached the kitchen, where her sister, also in pajamas, was having breakfast.

"Good morning, Lydia" Her sister's name reminded her of what happened last night.

She would have to be more careful next time, the top she wore last night was stained with the boy's blood and now it was crumpled in the back of his closet, where she had left it after trying to wash it -very lazily.

In the kitchen was also Prada, whom she greeted by stroking her hairy head. It had been a long time since she last saw the pet, she had missed her presence in Lockwood's mansion. The closest thing to a dog she had there was Tyler.

"Good morning, Clara" Her sister smiled as she took her cereals.

The oldest took what she would need to make her breakfast: two slices of bread, butter and jam. She put the bread in the toaster and took a plate and a cup, she would make tea. The plate was left next to the toaster while the cup was placed on the counter, next to the hob. She took out a kettle and started to boil the water for tea. In the meantime, she took the “tea” that she had brought from Mystic Falls as a gift for her mother and her sister.

The box was open, her mother would have tried it already. As you will be thinking, yes the tea has verbain, not much, but something. Clara had chosen a tea with strong flavor to dull the bad taste of the verbain, so that somehow her family couldn’t be forced by a vampire. She didn't know if there were vampires in town, but she preferred being safe than sorry.

Therefore, she had also given her mother a pendant with verbain. She had given her sister a bracelet with a verbena; she wanted them both to be safe. For that, not only they had to take verbain, but also Clara, although that harmed her.

If she took a small amounts daily, she could get used to it and she would be safe from being compelled by an Original; more specifically, by Klaus. She didn't trust him, nor his plans with her. In times like these, she was grateful that she wasn’t totally a vampire and everything didn’t affect her as it would to a vampire. She could put up with verbain better than other normal vampire, like the sun. Although it was also true that she healed slower and the super speed and super strength she had was lesser than that the ones a normal vampire of her age could have.

After making breakfast, she sat next to her sister. The first sips of tea burned her throat, but little by little she got used to it and, together with the toast, she finished her breakfast. Now that they were alone, Clara could do a mini-interrogation to her sister, she wanted to know what had happened to her. She had a kind of "aura" -to call it something- different, maybe even supernatural. She hoped it wasn’t so, a Martin sister risking his life in the supernatural was enough.

“Well, Lydia, how’s everything? Anything new?” The oldest sister tried to start the conversation, causing the younger one to look up from her breakfast and plant her gaze on her.

"Everything’s... Everything’s alright" The green-eyed Martin seemed to hesitate to answer, as if she had something to hide. “At the moment there’s nothing new, what about you? What’s up with Elena, any progress?” She quickly changed the subject, smiling at his sister.

“She has a boyfriend” She wasn't entirely sure of that, did Stefan and her broke up? With all the supernatural drama she had stopped paying attention to the romantic life of her crush. “Or so I think, and she still doesn't know that I like her” That was not quite true either, because she had told her about it while being drunk and then she had compelled her to forget it, so in theory she did. She just didn't remember. “And I screwed her boyfriend's brother, so I don't think she suspects anything”

"Someday you'll have to tell her, Clara" Her sister advised her. “You like her since you were little, you won't lose anything trying”

"Besides my dignity, I would also lose our friendship, so I prefer to remain being her friend" Lydia shrugged and Clara continued talking. “Ah! Another thing I wanted to ask you, why did Jackson leave Beacon Hills? I thought the lacrosse team here was very important to him” The older sister again directed the topic towards her sister, who was surprised with the question, thinking that she had already misled her.

“He and his parents moved to the United Kingdom, he had no choice”

Clara nodded and, just as she was going to ask another question, she heard something from the television -which was on since before she arrived- that immediately caught her attention. She closed her mouth and turned her head toward the device:

_This morning, two women from Tennessee have been found in their home after a fire was discovered on the property. Forensics claim that they were drained of blood before being decapitated and burned in the fire, in an attempt to cover the evidence._

“Oh my god..." The older woman expressed her surprise.

Klaus had mentioned in previous calls that they (Stefan and he, of course) were going to Tennessee. This might not blame them at all if it wasn't because Stefan, as a ripper, was known to leave his victims without a head. Besides that, Damon had been tracking them since he recovered from the wolf bite and had already told her what he had found.

Lydia watched her in confusion by her surprise and Clara had to quickly make up an excuse for her surprise:

“It's been a long time since I saw this kind of news, in Mystic Falls everything is very quiet”

Lies. Lies. Lies.

The girl nodded not very convinced and got up to start picking up her breakfast. Seconds later, the honey-eyed teenager copied her actions and ran back to her room. She brushed her teeth and spent half an hour searching in her grimoires for information that could be of Klaus’s interest, without much success. Then, she took the clothes she would wear to go to the academy and entered her bathroom. She took a quick shower and dried her hair with a towel before brushing it and dressing herself. In a black backpack, she put a pencil case and the books and notebooks she needed for the classes.

Her mother had been greatly enraged when she learned that she had suspended most of the subjects she had (courtesy of her aunt Carol) and had decided that she would have to go to an academy all summer to study all the subjects she failed.

It was not something she liked really and, although she could avoid it compelling her mother, she decided not to. She wanted a life without cheating, she had an eternity ahead to choose the easy way.

After classes, she planned to go to the local gym, to practice some jumps, somersaults and other tricks that were performed on cheerleading teams. She was determined to re-enroll in the team, at risk of seeing her former friends.

This year was going to be chaotic, she sensed it.


	2. Not as quiet as it seemed

Summer was what many people would describe as the perfect season for swimming, sunbathing and doing nothing, but for Clara Martin that wasn’t the case. If spending the summer in a town where she had no friends (because, let's be honest, no matter how much time she spent with her sister and her best friend, it didn't mean they were friends) was already depressing, imagine how boring it had to be if she also went to an academy.

Insufferable, right?

Thanks to her lack of eagerness to study, she spent a good amount of time practicing her magic. Since Caroline wasn’t there to force her to join the summer cheerleader practices, she also had to train alone in the local gym.

Her practices were the only interesting thing that happened during the summer. Clara missed Elena’s birthday and all the drama revolving her tireless desire to save Stefan. Damon updated her about everything he found, wishing she could tell her what she knew. But if she did that, everyone would be in danger. In the end Damon and Elena went after Stefan twice, twice times Elena could have been seen by Klaus. And that could have ended badly.

Returning to the present, now Clara was leaving her Volkswagen Beetle parked in the school parking lot, feeling the eyes of many other students in her. It was no secret that Lydia's older sister had returned to town and many had taken advantage of the stir to launch their incongruous hypotheses about the reason behind her return. All they said were silly and pointless things, they clearly didn’t know her.

Carrying her favorite brown shoulder bag, she walked to the building where the classes were held. Allison had offered her to go with her and Lydia to high school, but Clara refused, because she didn't want to be a nuisance to the brunette and she enjoyed driving alone. The redhead couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the students’ whispers. They didn’t know how to be discreet.

With her quick steps, her boots echoed through the halls of the high school as she walked to the secretary. Her black skirt fluttered in the air when she suddenly stopped in front of the secretary's desk, giving the aforementioned small smile. The woman handed her the schedule and the combination of her locker and smiled back. After the exchange of information, the honey-eyed student went away in search of her locker, which didn’t take long to find.

Clara opened her new locker and put inside it a bag where she was carrying her sportswear. She had practiced enough during the summer, she was more than ready.

Clara easily found the classroom where her first class was about to start. The class wasn’t very crowded and there were still some seats available. She randomly sat on one in the second row. The new student began to take out her books and her pencil case from her bag, when two quite familiar boys entered. They kept staring at her as they sat behind her and she did the same, with a raised eyebrow. She analyzed them for a few seconds until she remembered who they were: Scott McCall and Stiles Stilinski.

She knew them both from the past years she was in town; they frequented the same places during the breaks and she almost saw them everywhere she stepped in. Beacon Hills was a small town and almost everyone knew everyone. Both boys had grown up and it wasn't something that Clara disliked in any way. Stiles had grown his hair; he no longer had his distinctive buzz cut. It suited him quite, quite well. In a split of second, Clara remembered why she had a feeling she had seen him before high school started.

She drank his blood months ago, when she just got back to town. Clara only wished he didn't remember what happened.

Back to the present; Scott, on the other hand, had done the opposite: his curly hair was shorter. With these two in her class, Clara was going to have several reasons to feel like going. Thinking that, she extended the mischievous smile that was forming in her mouth and listened to the whispering conversation the boys were having:

“Is...? Is that Clara?”

“Yes, I think she is... Everyone has been talking about her arrival, but what is she doing in our class? She is older than us”

“I think she is repeating the year and that’s why she’s back”

“Makes sense”

The redhead took that moment to turn around dramatically and respond to their conspiracies.

"I'm surprised you are the only one who reached to that conclusion" The boy looked at the older girl, startled. “Since I arrived, I have heard everything but that”

“Thank you…?” The human didn’t know how to respond. “So, that’s why you’re back?”

“Yes”

Giving them a firm nod, Clara turned again and rested her head on her hand. Her sister and Allison soon appeared by the door and took a sea. Clara sensed some hesitation coming from Allison to sit down; the only remaining seat was in front of Scott, who seemed almost as uncomfortable as her with the situation.

“Is someone sitting here?” The brunette asked, pointing to the seat.

“No, no, no, no, no, it's all yours. All yours” Scott began to answer quickly. “There’s no one there”

Clara watched the embarrassed girl sat down, while Stiles expressed his approval giving Scott the thumbs up. Suddenly, every student received a message on their mobile phones. The hybrid took out hers from her bag and read the message all of them had received:

_The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds, and the tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed somber under an overcast sky, seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness._

As she was reading it, a female voice read it aloud, while her heels announced her arrival. Clara, somewhat shocked with what happened, looked strangely at her new English teacher, Miss Blake. How could she have the phone numbers of all her students?

"This is the last sentence of the first book we are going to read" Miss Blake announced after her dramatic entrance. “It’s also the last message you will receive in this class” She smiled at all her students before continuing. “Phones off, everyone”

Everyone did so and the class begun.

That was the most interesting thing that happened. The class continued like it normally would do after that. At some point, while the students were doing some exercises, Scott got out of the classroom after being called by his mother. Minutes later, Clara heard Stiles ask her sister:

“Hey Lydia, what’s that? Is that from the accident?”

What accident?

“No, Prada bit me”

Oh, Clara remembered that. Now his sister had a bandage on her ankle for that. What she still didn't know was what accident Stiles was talking about.

“Your dog?”

"No, my designer handbag" After a pause, she added. “Yes, my dog”

“Has she bit you before?” Lydia denied with a little humming. “Ok, what if it's the same thing as the deer?” What deer? “Like how animals start acting weird right before an earthquake or something”

“You mean what? Is going to be an earthquake?”

“Or something. I just… Maybe it means something is coming” Was he speaking of Clara? Of course, she was an aberration of nature, but she didn't think her arrival was going to impact the nature that much. She didn't plan on doing anything bad and Prada was nice with her... “Something bad”

"It was a deer and a dog" Stiles did not answer. “What is that thing you say about thrice, once, twice…?”

And just like that, a crown crashed into the window next to the younger redhead. Everyone, including Clara, watched in fear what happened, looking expectantly at the bloodstained window. The teacher took undecided steps to the window, where a flock of crows were heading. The adult stared at the view, petrified, when said black birds repeated the actions of the first one.

Everyone got quickly altered, watching the birds smash through the windows and fly into the room, and Miss Blake yelled everyone to cover. Clara's first impulse was to protect her sister, pouncing towards her. Perhaps faster than a human would. In that very moment, she didn’t mind being discovered; she had to protect Lydia from the crazed animals. The older sister hugged the younger one, covering most of her body, and Lydia hid her head in the arms of her motionless sister.

*******

After what happened in English class, the students allowed to leave the building. Clara was still somewhat frightened hours later when she finished eating at home, the scene of crows crashing into the windows repeating itself over and over again. She had searched her grimoires for some kind of response to what had happened, but she didn’t want to admit that this was something supernatural. Something supernatural and bad.

Very bad.

In her grimoires she found information about fauna near to some type of evil entity (witches who practice dark magic, dark druids, ripper vampires, beings that destroy the balance of nature) going crazy, as if nature itself was warning about the arrival of something evil.

As Stiles said in class, although he really didn’t know the great truth his words guarded.

During the time she had lived in Beacon Hills, she hadn’t ever once felt another witch, so she crossed out that possibility. Nor had she heard of recent massacres in nearby towns nor in Beacon Hills, so the Druid and the ripper vampire were also crossed out. Although it was true that she had felt something supernatural in her sister and heard certain howls during full moon, she discarded that her sister was a werewolf, since the gene came from the side of the family of Tyler's father, with whom they weren’t related. Besides that, Lydia acted normal when there was full moon.

Surely, if there was a pack in Beacon Hills of werewolves, they would be in the outskirts, near the forest.

Clara also doubted that her sister was a witch, her ancestors could corroborate that. Over time and generations, women from their mother's family have had a daughter who would continue with the family legacy. The first girl they had would be the one that would obtain the powers of the previous ones (and already deceased) and she would be the only one that could give birth to another _Spiritus_ witch. As the witches no longer married only those of their same species, a descendant obtaining the powers was somewhat more difficult than 150 years ago. Because of this, neither her mother (who was older for minutes than her aunt Carol), nor her grandmother had the powers; but they could pass it to future generations.

Such as Clara.

As far as Clara knew, the witch gene had skipped two generations at least and that had caused a lot of accumulated magic left for her, which caused the instability of her powers. The type of magic used in her “coven” -if you could call that a bunch of dead witches and a hybrid- is Spiritual Magic, in which the witches who practice it are given part of the magic of their ancestors. This means she received the magic of previous witches. They communicate with Clara through dreams and callings, which is possible thanks to the pendant she is always been wearing.

The pendant was a simple chain holding a big -and kind of heavy- amethyst, it belonged to one of her ancestors.

The only thing left on the list was the arrival of something that destroyed the balance of nature. By this did it meant supernatural aberrations like Klaus and her? Or did it mean that a common supernatural being was unbalancing the balance of nature? Yes, it was true that Klaus was trying to make hybrids with Stefan (as weird as that phrase sounded), but so far he hadn’t succeeded, right?

For the world’s sake, Clara wished he hadn't achieved anything yet, but something told her that he had discovered how to do it and that he was closer to her than she thought.

She tried to forget about that for time being; now she had a test for impertinent cheerleaders she had to pass with excellence. If with his past with a few he was not the friendliest and he also feared they were still on the team, he had a feeling that they would not make it easy for him. Knowing Jessica, who was her "best friend" long ago, she knew she would resent her leaving without saying anything. And then not try to contact her, even if that was on your part too. And when he came back he wouldn't have said anything either.

*******

_We’ll see each other very soon, love._

That was the message Clara received a couple of weeks after the beginning of High School. She didn’t need to look who sent her the message, the nickname perfectly indicated that it belonged to a certain Original hybrid. Was that message some kind of warning? Had she done something wrong and Klaus had discovered that Elena was still alive?

The redhead's hands trembled as she reread the message over and over again, nervousness taking over her. Would he hurt her family? Would he chase her for eternity like Katherine? What will he have done to Stefan? Throwing a couple of swear words, she hid her face in her hands and then ran them through her hair. Maybe she would have time to hide her family and run away, she had to find a way to make them disappear...

“Clara! A friend of yours is here to see you!”

What?

Clara took a stake she had hidden under her bed, next to the mini-fridge in which she kept bags of blood, and hid it in her big sweater’s sleeve. She left her room, walking cautiously, trying to hear the visitor. She could only hear his breathing at the entrance of her house, her mother must have returned to her chores. Clara closed her eyes tightly before going downstairs, praying that her mother had not invited a vampire inside the house. She tried to think positively, but who would visit her on a Thursday afternoon?

“Um...” The teenager stopped looking the interior of the house to watch the redhead appear in his vision. “Hello, Clara. You left this in physics today. I came to give it back to you” He scratched the back of his neck, while showing Clara the purple pencil case that belonged to her.

Oh, it’s just Stiles.

The older girl quickly changed her attitude from the defensive, ready to attack, to a grateful one. A small smile formed on her lips as she placed a strand of her recently straightened hair behind her ear. Hiding the arm that carried the stake behind her back, she approached him and took the case.

"Thank you for bringing it, I didn't remember losing it" But she did remember Stiles asking for a pen and she vaguely handing him the entire pencil case. “I am so easily distracted”

Stiles nodded and gave her a kind smile. He ran his hand through his hair before continuing to speak, somewhat shy

“This afternoon Scott and I are going to see a movie, would you like to come with us?” After the confused face Clara made, he added: “You’re nice and we know what is not to having many friends in high school”

Clara ignored her surprise and invented a quick excuse, covering up the fact that she had to find a way to hide her family and run away in order to keep them save from Klaus:

“I’d like to go with you, but I have to study for tomorrow’s exam. I am not doing very well”

"If you want, we can postpone the movie and I can help you this afternoon" Said the human, causing Clara's suspicions to increase.

What if Klaus had forced him to be with her to get her out of her house and then brutally kill the two of them? Clara knew with certainty that neither her family nor Allison could be forced, since they all ingested or carried some verbain, but Stiles could have been perfectly compelled by some vampire. Clara didn't know if Stiles was being forced or not, so she made a mental note to give him some verbain and not be around him as long as he didn't have it.

“It’s not necessary, really. I concentrate better alone” She gave him a smile for the last time and, with a gesture towards the door, he indicated to the visitor that it was time to leave, since she was busy. Stiles understood and left the house, after Clara opened the door and said their goodbyes.

It seemed odd that Stiles had taken the trouble to come to her house just to give her pencil case (when he could give it to her perfectly the next day) and invite her to spend time with him. Clara just hoped it had nothing to do with Klaus. After all, Stiles was a weird guy. To make sure it had nothing to do with the hybrid, Clara listened to Stiles get into his Jeep and exchange a few words with Scott, before starting the car and leaving the place. She didn't understand anything both teenagers were talking about, but, since it had nothing to do with Klaus or the supernatural, Clara didn't give it any second thought.

Still somewhat worried about the message she received, the redhead returned to her room, calmer this time.

But all that tranquility vanished when she saw a certain vampire doppelgänger beckoning her to let her in from her balcony. Clara refrained from shouting or throwing the stake when the curly-haired vampire gestured for her to remain silent. Clara opened the door and left the safety of her home, after leaving the stake lying on her bed:

“What the hell are you doing here, Katherine?”

"We have to talk; I have information that may be useful for you" The older one smiled sideways, pleased that she caught Clara’s attention.

“Ok, what is it?” Still surprised to see her here, the redhead crossed her arms and frowned. Although she looked like Elena, Katherine had nothing to do with her.

“You might prefer to talk about this inside”

“I'm not going to invite you in!” She exclaimed, not believing what the 500-year-old vampire had the nerve of insinuating her.

“Are you sure? Do you really want other people's ears to hear our conversation?” She made her doubt. “You know that inside you can use sage and avoid, you know what.”

Clara looked at her for a few seconds, thinking carefully. In a way, Katherine was right: if Klaus was on her tracks, she didn't doubt that he would have sent someone to spy on her. The problem was that Katherine would have access to her home… And trusting her was something that didn’t end well.

"I will let you in only if you promise not to do anything against my family" The brunette rolled her eyes, but nodded nonetheless. Sighing for the last time, Clara started talking; she would have time in the future to regret this. “Ok, you can come in”

The older woman's victory smile didn’t go unnoticed as she entered Clara's room. The redhead followed her and closed the door behind her, trying to see if anyone was watching them. Clara ran the curtains and took a glance for the last time, not seeing any vampire lurking.

Clara looked in her closet for the secret drawer in which she kept some herbs -that were used for spells- and an incense burner. She took out the burner and the sage and placed them on her desk. Clara only needed one glance to light up the incense-like stick. When she turned to look at Katherine, she was lying in her bed with her legs crossed, watching the stake.

"Well, you can start talking" The redhead began the conversation, impatiently.

The uninvited visitor sat up on bed, dropped the wooden weapon and started talking:

“Klaus has discovered that Stefan was lying and is heading to Mystic Falls”

“Are you sure?” Clara exasperatedly ran her hands through her hair, sighing as she sat on the chair at her desk.

"Yes" Katherine said, looking at her, seemingly sincere. “Do you think I would lie to you about this?”

“Well, you have a long list of betrayals...” Katherine rolled her eyes again. “But I don't doubt your skills at stalking Stefan”

“So?”

“I think that before going to Mystic Falls, he’ll be making a quick stop here in Beacon Hills” And, to contrast her words, she got up and showed Katherine the message of the hybrid.


	3. Broken necks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really didn't plan on continuing to translate this, but right now I feel like doing anything but my assignments, so here we go!  
Excuse my poor English and enjoy :)

That night, Clara had a hard time falling asleep, what happened repeating in her mind like a loop. She rolled one last time on her bed, lying on her back and peered the ceiling of her room, sighing.

Katherine had left some time after learning that Klaus was after Clara, claiming she had nothing left to tell her, although both women knew the truth. The doppelganger was scared. If Klaus went after Clara, he’d know that she was with her. Katherine promised to contact her again if she found out anything, but if that meant putting her life in danger, Clara knew that Katherine wouldn’t come.

Bored and tired of not being able to sleep, the redhead began to observe the darkness of her room: the mountain of notebooks on her desk, her favorite boots scattered near the carpet, the silhouette attached to her door that looked like a person... Wait, that didn't look like a person, that _was_ a person.

Before she could even scream, one hand covered her mouth and twisted her neck in such a way she’d be unconscious for a couple hours.

*******

When Clara woke up, she was in her old high school’s gym.

She was lying on the floor when she opened her eyes, listening to the cries of a teenager not so far from her. Disoriented, she stabilized on her elbows to see what was happening. The teenager, probably a high school student, had her leg raised and struggled to maintain her balance; besides her was another student, who remained impassive at the scene. They were compelled...

“Look who has woken up” That voice... Klaus! “Welcome to the land of the living, love”

The redhead turned her head to look at the blond, who was a few steps behind her. The millennial hybrid was smiling happily, but Clara knew that his smile wasn’t made from real joy: she, after all, hadn’t told him that Elena was still alive. The human was a few meters away from Klaus, with a grimace while watching the thousand-year-old Original interact with his friend. After Klaus promised to save Damon's life, Clara swore allegiance to him.

Klaus had many reasons to be upset with her.

“I thought we had made a deal”

“And yet you still took Stefan, we both broke our promises” Standing, the redhead refuted him. Klaus muttered some affirmative answer before she continued speaking: “Why did you bring me here? You already have Elena, I don't think I'll be very helpful”

"All in due time, little love" He threw her one of his typical smiles as she approached Elena and hugged her protectively.

A few seconds passed in silence, until Elena decided to speak, after breaking the hug.

“Where’s Stefan? What did you do to him?”

"Stefan’s on a timeout" Klaus crossed his arms as he responded, giving them both a small look.

Another broken neck, huh?

It was then when they heard the gym door being opened. Bonnie and Matt had just entered.

“Matt, Bonnie, get out of here!” Elena managed to scream, before Klaus used his super speed to reach them.

"Ah, I was wondering when you’d show up" The brunette witch startled when she saw him just behind her. “Now we can get started” Klaus, then, turned to the two compelled teenagers and addressed them. “Ah, Dana, why don't you relax? You and Chad sit tight.” Dana, that was her name, dropped her leg while Chad helped her to sit down. The hybrid turned his gaze to Bonnie and Clara. “I assume you and Clara are the reason Elena's still walking around alive?”

"That's right" The redhead took a couple of steps until she was next to Bonnie.

"If you want to blame someone, blame us” The witch added, trying not to look too terrified.

"I'm not looking for revenge, honey" He narrowed his eyes in disgust. “Just your witchy interference seems to have caused some undesirable side effects. And since you caused the problem, I'm going to have you find the fix”

And then, a blonde entered the gym dragging her cousin, Tyler.

“Get off of me!” The werewolf grunted, while the beautiful woman grabbed his arm.

"Hush now" She hissed back, walking to where the rest were.

"I'd like you all to meet my sister Rebekah" The Original pointed to the blonde. Besides Elijah, Clara didn't know the rest of his siblings. “Word of warning... She can be quite mean”

"Don’t be an ass" Rebekah murmured before shoving Tyler.

“Don't touch him!” Clara almost growled at Klaus, who got a hold of the werewolf.

“You broke your promise, I plan on breaking mine” He looked at her defiantly for a few seconds, until he started to walk to another side of the group and began with his speech. “I'm going to make this very simple...Every time I attempt to turn a werewolf into a vampire hybrid, they die during the transition” He observed the group of teenagers, before commenting. “It’s quite horrible, really”

Then, giving Clara one last look, Klaus bit his wrist and made Tyler drink from him. The Martin was about to launch against the hybrid, but she was retained before doing any stupid thing.

“I need you to find a way to save my hybrids. And, for Tyler's sake… You better hurry”

And, as if Tyler’s bones were made of porcelain, Klaus expertly broke his neck. Then, he left him on the floor and retired with his sister. Clara and Matt crouched beside the werewolf. The redhead stroked his cheek, saving her anger and sadness for later. She had to contact her ancestors, sooner rather than later. She needed their advice.

"He killed him" The human couldn't believe it, watching his best friend in shock.

"He's not dead, Klaus's blood will turn him into a vampire" Elena assured him, but, although it hurt to admit it, Clara found very little chance her cousin would survive this. What if they didn’t find anything to help him? Then they would only have one more body to bury.

“And if the girls are successful, he’ll live through his transition” The Originals approached the teenagers as Klaus spoke. “Go on, then. Go and fetch your grimoires and enchantments and what-not. I'll hold on to Elena” The man took her arm and the redhead tensed noticeably. “For safe keeping”

Seeing that the witches doubted leaving her with the hybrid, the doppelgänger nodded to them to leave. Matt accompanied them and together the three got out of the gym. As she began to walk through the halls, Clara realized how cold she felt. Her bare feet trembled with each walk. Matt lent her his jacket as soon as he noticed.

“What are you going to do?” It was the first thing Matt asked both of his friends when they were somewhat away from the gym.

“I have no idea. The curse he’s talking about is a thousand years old, our grimoires don’t go back that far” Bonnie replied, as nervous as the rest.

"Can you ask those dead witches that helped you before?" The blond human tried to help.

"I don't have contact with them anymore, they cut me off when I brought Jeremy back to life" The brunette explained. “What about you, Clara? Do you think you can contact your ancestors?”

"Yes, but I’ll need to make a spell because they aren’t trying to contact me" The redhead explained. “It will take me some time; you need to find an alternative in case they don’t help me”

Her friends nodded and kept walking. Clara could tell Matt and Bonnie were thinking about what to do, as they silently crossed the hall. Then, the Bennett witch stopped abruptly.

“I can no longer contact the dead, but Jeremy can”

With now a new lead, Clara separated from them.

*******

The second time Clara woke up and found herself in the altered version of the class she was, she knew she had done the spell well.

It was the second time she did it and she was happy she remembered the steps: call her ancestors through her pendant and perform a spell to make her sleep for about twenty minutes. To do so, she had gotten into an empty class where she was sure no one would find her, and lay down on some desks.

She was almost as upset as the first time she tried to contact her ancestors, the only difference is that now someone different was dying: her cousin. She only did this back when Damon was bitten and, although the dead witches weren’t really fond of the vampire, they helped her. Those same witches were the ones who returned her magic to her, ignoring the balance of nature.

Their main goal overall was helping their people.

Four witches surrounded Clara, who was standing next to her sleeping body. The hybrid recognized the women.

"I need your help, Klaus is using Tyler in order to know how to make his hybrids work" She pleaded.

“The fact that you managed to get young Elena to live after the ritual altered the curse, according to how the Original Witch had it planned” One of them responded very slowly.

“It took a werewolf, a vampire and the doppelganger to break the curse” Another one continued, trying to get to the point.

"I don't think that revealing what is needed will do the rest of the Earth much good, Ava" An older witch reproached said witch.

"But Tyler is family and he needs our help" The youngest of the ancestors, explained. “Tyler is a werewolf, Klaus makes him a vampire, so what does the doppelganger do?”

After she spoke, they left Clara a few minutes to think in utter silence. The witches weren’t always clear with their answers and it didn’t help that Clara was panicking. At least, they let her know Klaus needed Elena.

"Your time here is over, we hope you do the right thing"

*******

Clara woke up for the third time and left the classroom as fast as she could. With her improved senses, she looked for Bonnie and Matt. She heard them near the pool, so she headed there and found them both soaked, shivering.

What had happened?

“What happened to you, guys?” Concerned about their well-being, the redhead asked.

Quickly, she took off the jacket Matt had lent her and handed it back. He needed it more than she did.

"Matt has tried to see ghosts diving in the pool" The brunette replied, reprovingly.

“What about Jeremy? Wouldn't it have been less complicated asking him for help?” Clara tried to understand why the human had done such stupid thing.

"We don't know where he is, but it worked" Both girls stared expectantly at the blond. “I saw her. I saw Vicky”

“Seriously?” Matt nodded.

"She gave me a message for you. It’s from the witch that put the hybrid curse on Klaus." Why would the Original Witch want to contact them? “She said that Elena shouldn’t have survived Klaus' ritual. The hybrids can't transition because Elena's still alive”

“But Tyler... He’s going to die, isn’t he?”

Clara knew this had something to do with Elena having survived the ritual, but what part did she really take in all of this? Did Klaus need to kill her or give her blood to the hybrids as in the ritual?

Clara had a feeling Tyler wasn’t going to survive.

"I wouldn't be too sure about it" Klaus's voice echoed in the silent halls, appearing behind them. “Given the choice, doppelgänger or a hybrid, I go hybrid every time”

After his words, the hybrid left through the dark corridors. The three teenagers were silent for a couple of seconds before the redhead decided to speak:

“You should get going; I'm going to see Tyler”

The human and the witch nodded and, after hugging goodbye, left. Sighing, Clara began her search. He had to find Tyler, at least before Klaus did whatever he planned to do.

After a couple of minutes wandering through the silent halls, she heard the difficult voice of his cousin in a nearby classroom. Caroline and Rebekah were also inside.

“What are you doing here?” Klaus's sister muttered when she saw her come in, ready to attack her if necessary.

"I came to see Tyler, not take him away" Had Clara to explain to the vampire, keeping the desire to make a sarcastic comment to herself.

The blonde nodded, watching her carefully. Caroline smiled sadly at her as she threw herself into a hug, she still hadn't seen her until then.

"I'm glad you're here, even in these conditions" Caroline whispered.

"Me too" Clara replied, breaking the hug.

“Do you think it will work, that it will be like you?” Her friend asked her, somewhat hopefully, while she approached her cousin, who was leaning on a table.

“I'm not sure. Mine was different, you know...” She grabbed Tyler's hand as a greeting, and he squeezed it for a few seconds, in response.

Clara wasn’t sure about how much pain Tyler was suffering, but it had to be terrible enough to keep him from forming any coherent noise. Caroline sighed slightly, before stroking Tyler’s back.

That touched Clara. When Caroline told her she and Tyler had started dating, she couldn't help but feel happy for both of them. She kind of knew they were going to end up together sooner rather than later.

“Well, the verdict's in. The original witch says the doppelgänger should be dead” Those were the first words Klaus said when he entered the room.

Clara and Caroline shared a worried look, but remained silent.

“Does that mean we can kill her?” Rebekah sounded a tad thrilled asking that.

Why was she so eager to kill her? She had barely met her today.

"No, I’m fairly certain it means the opposite” The Original hybrid replied before showing Tyler a test tube filled with blood.

“What?” The hybrid’s sister didn’t understand, but still grabbed Caroline and Clara by the arms, immobilizing them.

"Call it a hunch” Klaus didn’t care to explain. “Elena's blood, drink it”

“No! No, no, no! Tyler, don’t!” His girlfriend tried to prevent it, fighting the steel grip in which Rebekah had them.

"If he doesn't feed, he'll die anyway, honey." He didn't look at Caroline as he answered her. “Consider it an experiment. It’s okay”

Tyler struggled to remain on his feet, grabbing the table, while he picked up the test tube and brought it to his lips. When he drank Elena’s blood, he began to convulse and fell down.

“Tyler!” The redhead couldn't help shouting his name.

She knew this was all her fault. If she had done everything right, her cousin wouldn’t have to suffer the consequences of her actions. Caroline and Clara tried to let go of Rebekah’s strong grip.

Tyler screamed and grabbed his head, sitting up, it seemed that the blood was working. After falling to the ground again, he looked up and showed his werewolf eyes, which were now accompanied by vampire fangs and veins.

“That's a good sign”

Klaus had succeeded.

*******

Clara was sitting on the sidewalk minutes after Tyler completed his transition, waiting. After making sure her cousin was well, she left the building thinking how the hell was she going to return home on time.

Bonnie and Matt had gone home, and so did Caroline and Tyler after making sure the later was okay. Rebekah and Klaus had disappeared shortly afterwards, too. Clara didn't know what had happened to Elena and Stefan, but she had a feeling she’d find out soon. Before Caroline left, she told her that Bonnie had sent her a message saying that Damon was going to pick her up.

So now she was sitting on the sidewalk, cold and waiting for her best friend to appear. This didn’t happen until ten minutes later, when said vampire appeared in his car. He whistled a few times to get the girl's attention and she quickly got into the vehicle when she recognized him.

“Thanks for coming to pick me up, I don't know what I’d have to do after all this” The vampire smiled sideways, as he started the car and answered her:

"Don’t worry, Clara” Damon reassured her. “I didn't know you were coming and, because of what you’re wearing, I'd say you didn't either”

“Klaus broke my neck when I was sleeping, what, did you think I came willingly?” The redhead explained, rolling her eyes, although deep down was amused by his comment. “I don't know how he managed to get inside my house, it creeps me out”

“You can always change owners”

“He’ll find a way to sneak in again. I rather move” The hybrid reflected her inner thoughts, looking through the window. “What I don't know is how I am going to get back to my house on time so my mother doesn't find out I was here”

"Just compel her" Damon said simply, grimacing his lips. “Then, you come back and stay a few days”

“She's on verbain. It's not going to work, Damon”

“You can try”

Clara shrugged and the rest of the trip was silent. When Damon stopped the car at the hospital, the redhead was a little confused. Why were they there? Ignoring that doubt, she followed the vampire out of the car. They walked to the parking lot, where they had previously heard two people speak: Klaus and Rebekah.

“Well, look who finally decided to show up to the party” The Original from felt the presence of the other two supernaturals behind his back. Rebekah disappeared, not wanting to deal with his brother’s matters anymore, and Damon advanced towards Klaus. Clara followed him very closely. Klaus turned around to see them, smiling devilishly at the Clara. “And, of course, the Martin hybrid has followed him”

“Where is she?” The vampire almost spat out the question, looking disgustingly at Klaus.

“Elena?” Klaus faked innocence, as if he was possible of feeling anything more than anger or sufficiency. Now knowing what they were doing at the hospital, Clara asked herself how did Damon know she was there. “Ah, she's making a donation to a greater cause” Klaus commented casually and stopped Damon when he tried to approach him. “I'm afraid I can't let you interfere, mate”

Clara remained alert, close in case Damon started throwing punches. Although her magic was not perfected, she knew how to break a neck or two.

"You'll have to kill me" Again, Damon tried to advance, being stopped again by Klaus.

“Oh, I would love to kill you, but I made a pledge to your brother and I do keep my word” As he spoke, he fixated his gaze on the redhead. She rolled her eyes and replied in a whisper:

“You have a twisted way of fulfilling your promises”

“Although, you know what, thinking about it now, he probably doesn't care that much anymore” Klaus ignored her comment and slammed the vampire into a car, grabbing him by the neck.

Clara approached both of them with her super speed, ready to pull them apart. But Damon spoke, stopping Clara and Klaus dead on their tracks.

“Don't you want to know about your friend Mikael?”

Mikael?

“What do you know about Mikael?” Klaus seemed to get really nervous, it fueled Clara's curiosity even more. He must be someone important or powerful to be considered a threat to Klaus.

“Just that he knows you're here”

“You’re bluffing”

“Katherine and I found him. Considered it our leverage”

Those were the last words Damon said before Klaus threw him into another car and disappeared into the night, not so cocky after receiving the latest news. Clara ran to aid her best friend and help him up.

"He's gone" Clara stated, looking for the Original in the parking lot, to which Damon. “Let's go find Elena”

They walked to the hospital and separated ways to find the doppelganger faster. Clara wandered around the second floor, looking for any sound or smell that gave away the location of the brunette. The hallways were dark and lonely, but thanks to her senses she was able to orient herself in the almost deserted hospital.

She looked in various rooms, but only found sleeping patients or empty rooms. Clara took a sneak peek out some windows, almost about to give up and meet again with Damon, when by chance she found the room she was looking for.

She stealthily entered it at the sight of her friend's sleeping face. It was Elena. She had a bandage covering her neck and a needle drawing her blood. Delicately, Clara withdrew the latter and, just as she was going to carry her in her arms, she felt the presence behind her.

Clara had a feeling it wasn’t Damon.

"Klaus..." She turned to the door and looked at him standing there, smiling devilishly.

That was the last thing she saw before the Original broke her neck, again.

It was becoming a bad habit of him kidnapping her this way.

*******

It was around ten in the morning when Clara woke up. She was comfortably lying on a huge double bed, rolled like a burrito between the sheets and blankets. Thanks to the light that got into the room, Clara could appreciate its white walls and little decoration. She recognized a large wardrobe, a table with a television on it and Klaus sitting on an armchair near the window.

Oh, right, he broke her neck.

Again.

"You just woke up in time, love. I was afraid I had broken your neck too many times" The hybrid teased her, smiling mischievously.

“Why did you bring me here?” Clara asked, ignoring his comment while she sat up on the bed. "I thought you had enough with what you did to Tyler and would leave me alone"

“Although I’m happy with the results, I’m afraid I'm not done with you just yet” The blonde replied, not really giving away what he wanted from her.

“What kind of torture awaits me?” Crossing her arms, Clara asked. She needed to know.

"None" Klaus rose from his seat and headed for the exit. “Get dressed; we have a lot to do today. I’ll be waiting for you outside, don’t do anything stupid”


	4. A week with the enemy

After Klaus left the hotel room, Clara turned her gaze to her right, where she noticed a small pile of folded clothes. Rolling her eyes, she got out of the bed and picked up the outfit Klaus had prepared for her: a twisted brown top, a black skirt, black knee socks, and some underwear. On the floor was a pair of military boots.

Clara hummed at Klaus’ choice.

Either he had a good taste or he had managed to figure out her style from stalking her. Clara hoped it was the first, although we all know it was rather the second.

As she undressed and dressed herself, Clara couldn't help but wonder if she was just getting ready for whatever kind of death trap Klaus had in waiting for him. Even though it was true that the Original didn’t want to kill her 100% of the time and that he was quite intrigued by her supernatural condition, it was also true that Klaus was really pissed at her at the moment. Who would want a traitor as an ally? Whatever the Original had planned, Clara had to be alert, since she no longer had Elijah to negotiate anything with Klaus.

Clara went to the bathroom, to see how to fix the bird's nest that her hair had become. When she saw her reflection in the mirror she confirmed it, after last night’s event her hair had tangled more than normal. Clara found a brush and some rubbers. After untangling what she liked to call hair, she made two low buns and cleaned herself up with some toiletries she luckily found.

Clara left the bathroom and recognized a leather jacket on the couch the hybrid had been sitting on. Before leaving the room, Clara walked over to it and put it on.

"Finally" Klaus sighed when he saw Clara leave the room, and stopped leaning against the wall.

Clara didn’t respond to the fruit of his impatience and snorted, folding her arms.

“Are we leaving now or what?” The redhead brought Klaus's attention back to her, as she had noticed the hybrid had a blank face on when he realized she was wearing his jacket.

What was he staring at? It matched her outfit.

Klaus made some affirmative noise as a reply and started walking down the hall to the elevator. Clara followed the Original, watching him carefully. For all she knew, she was walking to her death. After Klaus pressed the elevator button, the Clara decided to speak again:

“May I know what your evil plans for today are?”

The blond spent a few seconds thinking before answering:

“You know what?” Clara, who thought the Original wouldn’t respond, was surprised to hear him speak. “I was wrong taking Stefan during the summer instead of you”

"Is that a sort of apology for breaking our deal?" The redhead questioned as she entered the elevator along with Klaus.

"I didn’t play my cards well. I should have used Stefan to inform me of what was happening in Mystic Falls and you, love, I should have taken you with me" The hybrid ignored her sarcastic comment, as he used to do. Oh, so that's why he had brought her there: he was still butthurt. “You better keep an eye on witches or they'll betray you” Klaus stared emotionless at the redhead, before turning his gaze back to the elevator’s doors.

Of course, he was still bitter.

What a resentful hybrid.

“Stefan did the same and he was with you” Clara stated, raising her eyebrows. “What makes you believe that if I had been with you I would have told you that Elena was alive?”

"Elena is that important to you?" Klaus asked, but he didn’t wait for an answer and continued speaking. "I expected the betrayal coming from Stefan, being hopelessly in love with her. But from you?”

“What about me? I'm her friend, of course I care” Clara said and followed the hybrid out of the elevator, in a defensive manner.

“Being what you are, I doubt a friendship is what matters to you the most”

Being what she was?

“Not all of us are hybrids for pleasure”

*******

Clara was sitting on a rock shortly after her conversation with Klaus. After her statement, there were no further word exchanges between the two, beyond a few attempts of starting a conversation by the Original. The drive to the forest they were now in was quiet, even when the older one offered her a blood bag and she reluctantly accepted it. She was upset, very upset, with the hybrid.

For starters, he sacrificed the girl she liked and her aunt just to become a hybrid. Then, he broke his deal and kidnapped her in the middle of the night. And now he has taken her to see how he creates more of him after having hinted that her only goal in life was to become even more powerful.

I mean, she made a deal with him to save her best friend, and Klaus still thought her friends didn't matter to her? Is that what she transmitted to other species, that she was just a power-hungry being?

The redhead sighed once more, unable to believe how surreal the event was.

“If you keep puffing, I'm going to start to think you're a bull, love”

Clara -although tempted to make some kind of sarcastic comment in response- remained silent and refrained from throwing a stone at his face. Crossing her arms, she watched as the evil hybrid distributed his blood to the werewolves and then broke their necks. It wasn’t a pleasant thing to watch, let alone with Klaus being anything but delicate with his future allies.

"I don't really think you only care about power, if that makes you feel better" The man broke one more neck and spoke again. This time, what he said caused curiosity in Clara, who looked at him questioningly to continue. “But I do think you like it. Besides that, Damon is terribly in love with the doppelganger”

"What does Damon have to do with all this?" After staring at the hybrid for a moment, she asked. Klaus laughed shortly as he went on with his own thing. Clara jumped off the rock she was sitting on and approached the Original- What do you mean?

“Because” _Crack_, one more hybrid started his transition. “you don't find it amusing when Damon goes after Elena”

Was he implying that she liked Elena? Because then he had been completely right.

"Explain yourself" The redhead insisted, crossing her arms, while the blonde turned to stare at her.

Even though Clara had her own suspicions, she wanted to make sure it was what she thought. She didn't believe Klaus was very pleased with his allies (or rather slaves) being in love with his source of hybrids.

"It is obvious, you have feelings for Damon" As the words came out of his mouth, Clara couldn’t help but laugh.

"To be a thousand-year-old vampire, you're not very smart" Clara managed to answer in between laughs.

The man's face changed when he saw her reaction and a confused grimace crept onto his face causing the redhead to laugh even more. It wasn’t long before he rearranged his stoic expression and replied to the girl:

"Then why were you so willing to give your life to save his?"

Clara's laughter died after his question. As the hybrid did, she returned to her blank face and replied:

"He’s my best friend, I’d do anything for him" Klaus narrowed his eyes for a few seconds, as if he was understanding something unbeknownst to her. “He saved my life and helped me when I needed it, I owe him everything”

"I understand..." The blonde muttered before continuing his work. Some grunts from the transitioning hybrids were heard by both of them, who turned their heads to see the newly awakened ones. “Take care of them, the blood bags are over there” Klaus pointed somewhere near a tree, which was a few meters away from the pair. “Don’t waste a single drop”

Clara rolled her eyes at his command. Sure, he can sidestep the topic so she couldn’t ask him anything.

*******

The rest of the day was a bit boring for Clara.

She and Klaus spent mostly of the day turning the werewolves and explaining them what was going to happen. Oddly, the hybrids didn't seem to be too furious about it. They were rather grateful. The ones who weren't... Well, Klaus took care of them. After that, the Original gave the alpha his phone number so he could contact them when he needed them.

Like they were his little army. Which they were, obviously, but Clara didn’t understand why. Klaus had already won; he had completed the ritual and now he had made more like him. What was left for him to do?

Clara hesitated a little to ask, but she did so while they were going back to the hotel:

“Why?”

The streetlights were the only thing that lit Klaus's face, which had contorted in confusion. His typical grimace had settled on his lips and his eyes glanced at the redhead. She looked through the car window, staring at the empty, dark woods that surrounded the road.

“«Why» what?” The Original asked as Clara shifted uncomfortably from her seat, regretting ever having opened her mouth.

“Why do you make hybrids? What are you gaining with it?” Klaus stopped at the red light and observed Clara. “What do you want to do with them?”

The blonde took his time to answer, probably wondering what the best answer was to give her.

"Wouldn't you like it if there were more like you? Wouldn’t you feel less lonely?" The question left Clara thinking about it in silence. Without waiting for an answer from her, Klaus continued speaking: “I have been waiting for a thousand years to be able to break the curse and create more like me. Besides that, they could become handy in the future”

After his answer, the redhead didn’t insist anymore, nor questioned his actions despite having more doubts circling her mind. Instead, she sank into her seat and leaned her head against the car window. Clara was a little tired; breaking necks and providing doppelganger blood among werewolves could end up being tedious if they resisted. Or tried bit her. One of them would have tasted her hybrid flesh if it weren't for Klaus.

That day felt never-ending and now all she wanted was to sleep at peace.

*******

The rest of the week continued with Klaus simple plan, which consisted in traveling to strategic places, turning entire packs and, if Klaus felt like it, resting a bit. That seemed to be today’s case: Klaus, holding some unbeknown intentions from her, didn’t hesitate to give Clara a “day off”. Between small quarrels and strange chats, she had become adjusted to Klaus’ the presence.

You could say she tolerated him; she had even, at some point, enjoyed his company. Clara found out Klaus wasn’t that much of a pain in the ass when he wasn't trying to kill everyone.

Dressed in Klaus's leather jacket, a simple black dress and a pair of ankle boots, Clara emerged from the bathroom of the fifth hotel they had stayed in. In the room, sitting on a couch, was the thousand-year-old hybrid… Watching cartoons?

“Why are you watching that?” Was the first thing the Clara managed to mouth, staring in utter confusion at Klaus. She tossed her damp hair out of her face and raised her eyebrows.

“Out of the five channels this TV has, this... program is the best I’ve found” The clear irritation written on Klaus's face caused a mocking smile on Clara, while the cartoons’ nonsense played in the background. “Well, since you're already done, it's time to set off”

“Where are we going?” Clara furrowed her eyebrows while Klaus got up and turned the TV off. The redhead had imagined she could take this opportunity to visit the city, but Klaus seemed to understand the meaning of «day off» differently. “I thought I had a day off”

"Yes, you do have a day off, although I have reserved a table in one of the best restaurants in this city" Klaus replied, simply. So, no Klaus-less break for her? “I thought we could go for a walk... If you feel like it, of course”

Klaus was asking her something nicely? Did the cartoons cause him brain damage?

Clara shrugged it without much of a second thought and left the room behind him. The trip to the fancy restaurant was short and they didn’t have to wait to enter it, all thanks to Klaus’ compulsion. After both sat at the table the hybrid had reserved, Clara took off her jacket and asked Klaus directly what she kept wondering ever since they left the hotel room.

“Why?” The blonde looked up from the menu and stared at her questioningly. "Why bother doing all of this just to spend time with a traitor?"

Klaus seemed surprised by her question, but answered without hesitating:

“And why wouldn’t I? We’re allies, I must know you better. After all, you and I aren’t that different”

"But you don't know me. You don’t know who I am" Clara defended herself, fixing her hazel gaze on the hybrid’s blue one.

"Well then, tell me something about you" Not knowing what to answer, the redhead kept silent. “Tell me how you became a hybrid”

Clara opened and closed her mouth, trying to explain that was a very personal memory of hers, but she finally gave up after looking like an idiot for ten solid seconds. Without much to say, the girl picked up the menu to think what dish she felt like trying, but her mind was somewhere else.

Klaus was the enemy, to her friends and to her. She couldn’t open up to him just because he was taking her to nice places. Clara wasn’t there on her free will, she needed to remember that to avoid falling into one of Klaus’ tricks.

“Well, have you decided yet?” The hybrid changed the subject, seeing Clara wasn’t going to answer him anyways.

“Not quite”

The dishes the fancy restaurant offered weren’t things she hadn’t tried before. She was a Martin, she was used to classy stuff; but her mind was wandering somewhere else and her gums ached for some blood. Having to act normal, Clara would be pleased ordering a simple burger, but the restaurant didn’t seem to go for simplicity. The atmosphere between both hybrids had become somewhat tense as the blond one waited for a response.

“You can order for me, I trust you won’t try to poison me” Clara tried to lighten the atmosphere with her failed attempt of a joke, but it just made the situation worse.

It wasn’t long before a waiter arrived the table and took their orders. Clara paid little attention to the exchange of words between the waiter and Klaus, a tad reckless from her as the thousand-year-old hybrid could have planned something for her. The girl’s mind was thinking about the mess she had got herself into.

On one hand, she was worried about her friends and her cousin’s wellbeing, and she was also stressed about not being able to contact them. They needed to know she was alive. Still, she doubted Klaus hadn’t mocked Damon and gloated over his second successful kidnapping. This was mainly because he hinted he had spoken to her best friend a couple of nights ago.

On the other hand, and stupid as it sounded knowing the situation she was in, Clara worried about how her mother would react when she gets home.

Yes, she had been kidnapped by the psychopath hybrid and was worrying about her mother's scolding. It could be because she didn’t feel like she was in danger, although she really was.

Clara abandoned her thoughts when the waiter returned with their order, not realizing he had brought an expensive bottle of wine just a few minutes before. She nodded approvingly at the dish being laid in front of her: roast steak with peppers, eggplant and potatoes. Klaus watched her eat silently what he chose for her, sipping from his cup. He stayed silent until he put it down.

“What has kept you quiet so far? Is it because of what happened be-?”

"No, it’s not because of that” The redhead quickly interrupted him. She cleared her throat before elaborating. “It's nonsense, but… when you kidnapped me, did you thought about compelling my mother, you know, just to make her believe the whole kidnapping situation didn’t happened? That she let me disappear?”

Klaus was surprised by her blabbering, to say the least. He stayed with his stoic façade for five seconds, until he gave into the diabolical smile that was creeping down his face. Due to his burlesque reaction, Clara couldn’t help but roll her eyes in an exasperated manner.

Why did she even care to answer truthfully?

The truth was that she didn’t like Klaus having access to her home and compelling her family, but she didn’t want to be punished for being kidnapped. Clara doubted she could compel that many people to make her disappearance a thing that never happened.

"Pardon me, love, but you have to admit that was amusing” Clara didn’t find it that amusing… “And, now answering to your question, yes, I compelled her. I made her believe you had gone to visit your little friends in Mystic Falls" Klaus actually replied this time and took a sip from his cup. “I also had to compel your sister to let me in and to make them both forget about me, but nothing else. You don’t need to worry about it”

Clara nodded, trying not to think that Klaus now could enter her home as he pleased. And that he also had made her family stop taking verbain, because otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to compel them. Their dinner continued silently, none of them wanting to have a small talk. Klaus, surprisingly, paid the bill and didn’t compel the waiter. After that, they left the restaurant and the silence didn’t follow them this time.

“Would you like going for a walk?” Klaus asked, gently. It wasn’t an order; he was sincerely asking if she wanted to.

It took Clara off guard; the redhead didn’t really expect him to actually ask for something. Still, she nodded as she didn’t really feel threatened by his offer and she didn’t have much else to do.

Both hybrids started walking down the street, leaving back Klaus’ expensive car at the fancy restaurant. Their steps and the distant traffic were the only things that filled their silence. This time, it wasn’t awkward.

It was just silence.

Klaus and Clara kept walking until they reached a park, it was full of high trees that hid the moon. The chilly breeze made Clara embrace herself. She watched the sky and sighed.

"It was an accident"

Klaus’ gaze fixated on her. He didn’t say anything, he just watched and waited.

"I started my transition because of an accident" The blond nodded and both of them continued to walk through the park. “It happened almost a year ago. I was going home in Tyler's car with Caroline and Matt…”

_A half-asleep Clara leaned her head against the window, sitting in the back seat next to Matt. Caroline was sitting before her and her cousin was the one driving. The day had been exhausting, starting with the parade and ending with a small accident that had occurred just a few hours earlier._

"I had drunk Damon’s blood"

_Earlier that day, while she was going home to change her clothes and wear something more comfortable than the swanky dress her aunt had given her, she tripped down the stairs and sprained her ankle. Damon, who had escorted her to the Lockwood mansion, offered her his blood for healing purposes. The witch didn’t feel like going around carrying crutches when Damon could just help her; she accepted his blood._

_So yes, it had been an exhausting day._

“Someone had a device for detecting vampires. It emitted a sound only they could hear, supposedly. But Tyler also could”

_In the middle of nowhere, Tyler started screaming, like something was piercing his ears. A noise the rest of the people in the car weren’t able to hear. The car turned abruptly to the left and it ended up crashing with something._

_Clara just closed her eyes and expected the worst._

"The doctors thought it was a miracle it just knocked me unconscious, or at least that's what Damon made them believe"

Klaus nodded once again, but Clara bet he was wondering how she could still be a witch. It was simply impossible. He had never seen anything like that in his thousand years of existence.

“How come you managed to keep your powers, Clara?”

She felt like she had already given too much information.

“That's a story for another time”


End file.
